Kona Dawg Dee-Lux
Price: $2,999
Weight: sub-30 something (lbs.)
Components: Shimano Deore LX, XT, Race Face, Mavic wheels, and Toga tires
Frame & Fork: Kona Clump XC 7005 aluminum frame, Fox Float R and Fox Float R 100mm air
Geometry: 70° head tube, 74° seat tube, 22.2” top tube
Sizes: 15″, 17″ (tested), 18″, 19″, 20″
Comments: Backyard dog, dawg on it!
www.konaworld.com

Snakes and Dawgs and Bears, oh my! It would appear that the bioengineering division at Kona has been hard at work over the past few seasons evolving its product line. The 2002 Bear is now the Dawg, the 2002 Bear Dee-Lux is now the Dawg Primo, and the newest addition to the Kona zoo is the Dawg Dee-Lux…the Snake is still the Snake. Got it? Good!

Just as the Stinky Dee-Lux falls between the Stinky and the Stinky Primo, the Dawg Dee-Lux falls between the Dawg and the Dawg Primo, which makes a lot of sense. As with the Stinky line, and all Kona dualies for that matter, the Dawg Dee-Lux features a multi-pivot, four-bar, walking-beam suspension designed for 4 x 4 travel (four inches front and rear). The Dawg Dee-Lux’s rear end is controlled by a Fox Float R, which runs in line with the seat tube, providing a smooth, responsive suspension and rebound adjusting to fine-tune your backcountry ride. The Dawg DL’s rear end also features cold-forged yokes and asymmetric box-shaped chainstays leading into forged IS disc mount dropouts. The brushed aluminum chainstays provide excellent power-transfer efficiency and add to the overall durability of the Dawg Dee-Lux frame. Up front, cleanly welded to the Kona Clump XC 7005 aluminum frame, is a CNC-machined reinforced head tube. The Dawg DL’s sloping top tube allows for great standover height and better suspension force distribution through the frame. The long-travel Fox Float 100 R up front is well-suited to the Dawg DL’s frame design and, like the rear float, will handle what the backcountry dishes up without a flinch.

You get a pretty decent component package on the Dawg DL for the price point. Shimano fills out most of the bike’s vital parts with a smooth set of Deore hydraulics front and rear, an XT rear derailleur, and LX front. Race Face handles the front end of the drivetrain with Prodigy XC cranks and a set of rings. Race Face also provides cockpit control with a Prodigy riser bar and 80mm Prodigy stem. A couple of Tioga Extreme XC rubbers and a set of Mavic X223 discs round out the component package.

Now with all the above-mentioned cross-country this and cross-country that, you might think of the Dawg Dee-Lux as a cross-country dualie, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but what about those riser bars, that wee little stem, and all that relaxed upright geometry? Kona’s rendition of the great peanut butter cup debate “Hey, you got cross-country in my freeride! No! You got freeride in my cross-country!” proves yet again that two great tastes can taste great together.

The Dawg Dee-Lux is more than comfortable in both disciplines yet slightly shy of competitive in either. So while you won’t be crushing pro Kona rider Geoff Kabush on the climbs or mocking pro downhiller Andrew Shandro (Trek/VW) on monster descents, you will be smiling stupid once you get yourself and the Dawg DL into the backcountry for an hour or eight.

One of the first things you notice about the Dawg Dee-Lux is its comfortable riding position. The combination of riser bar, short stem, a relatively long wheelbase (42.5 inches), along with a 74° seat angle inspire all the confidence you need for the descents that come your way in the wilderness. The 31-inch standover doesn’t hurt the bike’s handling of the technical descents either. The well-matched front and rear Fox suspension also added to the control of the Dawg DL and handled all but the super-sized hits with ease. The rear suspension was like a Dawg with a bone on the climbs, biting into the trail like it was a chew toy.

While there are certainly other full suspension designs out there with less “bob” on the climbs, the Dawg DL is no slouch when you’re climbing efficiently. While there are no lockouts on either the front or rear Fox, I never seemed to miss them during my rides.

In the right environment, the Dawg Dee-Lux excels and does exactly what Kona meant it to do—stand up to all the elements in the backcountry. If you’re a hardtail veteran finally admitting dual is where it’s at or a freerider sick of spending half your ride in the car, the Dawg DL just might be your next best friend.